BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 96
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 29, 2013

                            ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUDGET
                                Nancy Skinner, Chair
              SB 96 (Budget and Fiscal Review Committee) - As Amended:   
                                   August 26, 2013

           SENATE VOTE  :   Vote not relevant
           
          SUMMARY  :  This bill provides the necessary statutory references  
          to enact the 2012-13 Budget related to resources, environmental  
          protection, energy and agriculture.  Specifically,  this bill  : 

          1)Shifts the Ocean Protection Council to the Natural Resources  
            Agency and consolidates ocean programs under the Secretary for  
            Natural Resources.  

          2)Allows revenues from agricultural leases provided to the state  
            to be directed to the management of those leases rather than  
            for the future purchase of state lands.

          3)Allows the Speaker of the Assembly or the Senate Committee on  
            Rules to appoint a Member of the Legislature or legislative  
            staff to serve as an alternate for a Member of the Legislature  
            appointed to a state board or commission within the Natural  
            Resources Agency in the Member's absence.  Because these  
            members are ex-officio and do not vote, the alternates would  
            have the same restrictions as the sitting members.

          4)Provides a change to the Architectural Paint Recovery Program  
            and Carpet Stewardship Program at the Department of Resources  
            Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to allow the  
            administrative fees supporting these programs to be paid  
            quarterly in arrears rather than yearly.

          5)Reforms the Beverage Container Recycling Program at CalRecycle  
            in order to:  a) create a more stringent certification  
            process, b) provide a new, formal training and technical  
            assistance program, mandate the use of certain updated  
            information technology tools, and, c) restrict recycling  
            centers to only redeeming beverage containers for which a  
            California Redemption Value has been paid.

          6)Makes technical statutory changes to the Department of  
            Forestry and Fire Protection to eliminate the non-critical  








                                                                  SB 96
                                                                  Page  2

            functions, and reduce the statutory responsibilities of the  
            department, in order to meet workload within its authorized  
            spending levels. 

          7)Provides the necessary statutory changes to shift the  
            Education and the Environment Initiative from the Secretary  
            for California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) to  
            CalRecycle.

          8)Requires Joint Legislative Budget Committee notification  
            within 30 days of any hydroelectric power project relicensing  
            proposal by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that, if  
            approved by the department, would obligate the General Fund in  
            the future.

          9)Requires the California Alternative Energy and Advanced  
            Transportation Financing Authority to develop and administer a  
            risk mitigation program for Property Assessed Clean Energy  
            (PACE) loans.

          10)Provides for the transfer of a Caltrans building to the  
            Department of Parks and Recreation for incorporation into the  
            capital development plan for the San Diego State Historic  
            Park.

          11)Extends a concession agreement at Will Rogers State Beach to  
            exceed 20 years in order to allow the concessionaire to  
            amortize improvements over a longer period of time.

          12)Eliminates the term limits on voting members of the Delta  
            Stewardship Council.

          13)Requires the California Energy Commission, in administering  
            the Electric Program Investment Charge as developed by the  
            California Public Utilities Commission, to develop and  
            administer this program with a focus on ratepayers and with  
            annual reporting to the Legislature.  Does not change the  
            authorization status of the program.

          14)Makes several changes to the California Public Utilities  
            Commission (CPUC) including:  a) approves $30 million for  
            cyber-security research at the Lawrence Livermore National  
            Laboratory; b) provides for a zero-based budgeting exercise at  
            the CPUC to be reported to the Legislature in 18-months, c)  
            creates the Office of Ratepayer Advocates as a separate  








                                                                  SB 96
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            budgetary program at the CPUC with separate budget and  
            positions; and, d) requires notice to the Legislature of  
            future litigation settlements.  

          15)Contains an appropriation allowing the bill to take effect  
            immediately upon enactment.

           COMMENTS  :  This bill is identical to SB 84 (Budget and Fiscal  
          Review Committee), the Omnibus Resources trailer bill, which  
          passed the Assembly Floor on July 3, 2013, with the exception of  
          the deletion of a technical, obsolete provision. 


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Gabrielle Meindl / BUDGET / (916)  
          319-2099